Six years ago, almost to the day, Chris Wood pulls off a major coup, booking Aereogramme at The Factory. Anybody remember that? It was an amazing show and the only time that the great Scottish band Aereogramme ever played in Columbus. Chris now book shows at the Ravari Room and has once again delivered a fantastic early April present to me (and the city of Columbus) – Crippled Black Phoenix. Unless you’re an Electric Wizard or Mogwai fan, you’re probably not too familiar with this band and that’s too bad. But you’ve got potentially a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the band – 8 people strong – Saturday night. How they are all going to fit on the Ravari Room stage is worth the price of admission alone!

While the band likes to describe their music as “endtime ballads,” I think it sounds like Mogwai covering Pink Floyd for a movie soundtrack. Check it out for yourself:

I interviewedJustin Greaves, singer/guitarist of Crippled Black Phoenix, earlier this week, the day before he (and band) were going to hop on a plane and fly halfway across the globe to play two weeks worth of dates in the U.S. Here’s a quick snippet from the interview: Continue reading →

I just got off the phone with Nick, owner of the High Five. He told me that he just signed the paperwork and has sold the bar. The new owners are three partners that include Skully (from Skullys) and Mike from Ravari Room. As far as Nick knows, it’s still going to be a rock and roll bar. I think the kitchen is going to reopen, too.

I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for the club, having booked the place for a period of time. The venue is at a great location, so hopefully the new partners can turn it into something better than it already was.

For the uninitiated, the sound of Brooklyn’s Sound of Urchin is a bit hard to describe and always prone to evolution. Through their 2002 debut (major label) full-length You Are The Best and onto its 2005 (not major label) follow-up The Diamond, lead singer/drummer Tomato and his merry band of miscreants have seemingly fought to mash their influences and desires into something that rocks hard but finding cohesion has sometimes been difficult.

Their new release, Rejoice, builds on the progress they made on the second album, resulting in their most accomplished statement to date. While the proceeds never reach monotony, the quartet has honed a solid base of anthemic hard rock that is colored by some extended jams, some thrash-outs, and even some good ol’ fashioned cowbell. Tomato’s lyrics are just as whimsical as ever and rather idealistic for a dude that hates hippies, but you know, life is complicated. Some highlights include the pleading 808 jam “The Last From Me,” the gentle wake-up anthem “The Rooster Says Good Morning,” and the pleading “Don’t Walk Me Down That Road,” anchored by Doo Doo‘s sturdy bass. “Disappointment Has Come Upon Me” features some twin guitar shredding courtesy of co-lead guitarists Reverend B-Ill and Seahag ala Thin Lizzy (their myspace page describes their sounds as a combination of Thin Lizzy and the Bee Gees, which I can’t argue with much). A few of the songs are a tad overdone, and I could really do without the last track, but the complaints are few and far between here.

Sound of Urchin is in the last week of their album launch tour and will be touching down Thursday night (today) at the Ravari Room. Your paid admission includes a copy of Rejoice, which is quite a benefit. The album doesn’t officially drop until 2008, so the boys want the jams in the hands of the fans pronto. Opening are their Columbus pals The Brown Notes and Dobbs, a new Columbus trio featuring ex-Salthorse drummer Chris Cox. If you need any more convincing, here’s a vintage SOU show review from yours truly.